


i'll be there

by ceraunophiliac



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 'cause the fluff makes up for it, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Brothers, Brothers AU, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, DreamSMP - Freeform, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, I put Sapnap in Pain, Kid Punz, Kid Sapnap, Major Character Injury, Mild Blood, Minecraft, Pain, Sad and Happy, Speedrunning, but its okay, enjoy, punz isnt gonna be happy soon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28707243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceraunophiliac/pseuds/ceraunophiliac
Summary: The small raven-haired boy hummed softly to himself as he sat on the edge of the tall blackstone wall, his dark eyes roving over the vast land his brother had claimed for himself.“Boo!” a voice yelled out, causing Sapnap to let out a high-pitched scream.“That wasn’t funny, Punz,” he huffed at his older brother, who only smiled at him. “Can we go do something now? I’m so bored and you’ve been ignoring me all day,” he whined, tugging at his older brother’s white hoodie.Or: Punz teaches Sapnap how to speedrun, but he makes a mistake. (Inspired by Sapnap's stream today. If Brothers AU not real, why bicker like brothers?)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Luke | Punz, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Luke | Punz & Sam | Awesamdude, Luke | Punz & Sapnap, No Romantic Relationship(s), Sapnap & Sam | Awesamdude
Comments: 17
Kudos: 107





	i'll be there

**Author's Note:**

> Haha... no angst here! Only happiness :) don't listen to the tags. You know tags, they lie. Mhm mhm.
> 
> (get tissues.)
> 
> ALSO! I appreciate comments so so so much! Lemme know if you guys want a sequel :)

The small raven-haired boy hummed softly to himself as he sat on the edge of the tall blackstone wall, his dark eyes roving over the vast land his brother had claimed for himself. The boy had been waiting for a while, his brother having gone off to collect supplies for something. Sapnap sighed to himself, swinging his legs as they dangled off the side of the wall. 

Unfortunately for him, his own friends were off doing their own respective things. Dream was adventuring, as he always had tended to (Sapnap always found it quite odd that he would go off on his own with how old he was, only a couple years older than Sapnap himself. Dream didn’t really have a family to stay for, though) and George was sleeping, having helped BBH with some sort of baking thing earlier.

So, Sapnap was clutched by boredom, having thought of nothing to do—other than what his brothers told him were “illegal activities.” He didn’t think they should be illegal (they were fun after all) even if they caused minor forest fires. He sighed again, holding his face in his hand as he watched Bumpkin nibble at the hay he had set in his fenced off area.

“Boo!” a voice yelled out, causing Sapnap to let out a high-pitched scream. A firm hand on his shoulder jerked him away from the edge, back into the curling backside of the wall. His dark eyes looked up to see light blond hair along with bright blue eyes, smugness held within them.

“That wasn’t funny, Punz,” he huffed at his older brother, who only smiled at him. “Can we go do something now? I’m so bored and you’ve been ignoring me all day,” he whined, tugging at his older brother’s white hoodie. Punz rolled his eyes, throwing his arms out as he walked along the edge of his walls, shoulders moving with him as he breathed in. Sapnap hurried after him, being more careful than the blond was.

“C’mon, Sappy-nappy. Let’s go talk to Dream, I’ll see if he’ll make us a world. Maybe I’ll finally teach you how to speedrun, though you’re a little too small to do it competitively yet,  _ and a little too dumb,” _ he told the smaller boy, whispering the last bit to himself. Sapnap perked up immediately, letting out a happy shriek as he did his best to keep up.

Since Dream was the admin of the server, he was the only one who could make the connections to another world. Of course, if someone asked, he was obligated to make them an exit from the DreamSMP—not doing so could result in the higher ups revoking his admin powers, after all. Punz reached out as he climbed down from his walls, waiting to hear the wind prepare itself for his message.

_ Dream, I’ve decided to show Sapnap the ropes of speedrunning. We need a new world, can you do that? _

He only had to wait a few moments for a response, giving a silent thanks to the wind that ruffled his blond hair.

_ Seriously? He’s only 12, dude. Isn’t he too young to submit anything? _

_ Yeah, so what? You started when you were like nine, what’s the difference? It’s not like I’m gonna let him submit any runs. I just wanna show him how it’s done. _

He could feel Dream’s exasperated sigh within the next response.

_ Fine, oh my Ender. But if he gets hurt, I’m blaming you. Meet me by the community house, I’ll be there in like five minutes. _

Punz grinned, beckoning Sapnap along. “Come on! We gotta put away all our stuff, we don’t want to lose it while we travel worlds.” Sapnap nodded in agreement, running alongside his blond brother. They couldn’t have moved to put their stuff away faster, nearly bumping into Punz’s carefully set up armor stands and weapons rack. 

The 16 year old held out his calloused hand, offering it to his little brother. Sapnap took it without hesitation, immediately letting himself be pulled along. The pair ran together until the old, red bricks of the community house were visible. Sapnap let out a light, airy laugh, breathing as heavily as Punz was. The two bent over once they were in front of the masked kid, who watched them attempt to catch their breath with amusement in his eyes (unbeknownst to them, of course).

“So, little Sapnap wants to go speedrun?” Dream teased, laughing as the 12 year old gently pushed him. He eyed the older brother for only a moment before pulling him to the side, all teasing gone from his voice. “Remember,” he said lowly, as to not have Sapnap hear, “if he gets hurt, you’re to blame. I don’t even wanna know how Sam would react.” 

Punz scoffed at that. He wasn’t gonna let his little brother get hurt. That’s what he was there for. “He’ll be fine, Dream. I’m gonna watch and coach him every step of the way,” the older blond reassured the younger teen. “Sam’s not even here, anyway. He’s off in his base. I think he’s still setting stuff up there.” Punz shrugged, hand messing with the golden pendant that dangled from his neck. 

The masked boy rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway. He took a breath before reaching out, ripping open an entrance to a fresh world. “You have your timer? It may not be eligible to be submitted, but I wanna see how well he does,” Dream chuckled. Punz nodded, beckoning the ravenette over to the pair. 

“Can we go now?” Sapnap whined, arms crossed as he stared into the open portal. Punz only grinned at him before letting himself fall backwards into the new world. “Show-off,” Sapnap huffed. He and Dream shared a last high-five (and maybe a hug as well, but nobody needed to know that) before Sapnap saluted the 14 year old, stepping into the fresh world.

“Glad you could make it, Sappy-nappy! First things first,” Punz said, snapping his fingers. A timer appeared on Sapnap’s arm, causing him to let out a surprised cry. “That’s your timer, and it means you better hurry the fuck up! Get started. You need to find a tree, first off. I’m gonna teach you the hypermodern strategy,” Punz explained, pulling up a holographic menu. “I’ll be in spectator mode. I can see and hear everything you do and say, so you won’t be alone. You’ll be able to hear me, too, but you can’t see me.” 

**_00:05:06,_ ** the timer read.

Sapnap jumped into action, whipping his around to scan the wide plains biome, his dark gaze quickly settling on a young oak tree. He bounded over to it, giggling to himself. This was really happening! He was gonna experience his first speedrun. He fell into the familiar pattern of breaking the wood, collecting the whole tree (5 blocks) into his inventory. He created a crafting table off instinct before waiting for his brother’s next instructions.

“Punz? Are you still here?” he asked, waiting for a response. 

Punz hummed. “I’m here. Good job. Now make a boat and a set of doors. Then, you need to find an ocean and search for a shipwreck. You’re three minutes in.” He went back to humming, fighting a smile when he heard Sapnap unconsciously hum along.

**_03:40:13._ **

The preteen was quick to follow orders, crafting a boat and the doors and placing them all into his hotbar. He also made a wooden pickaxe, taking the time to mine a little bit of stone. He paused at first, waiting for his brother’s objection, but continued on when he heard nothing but that familiar tune. He was quick to craft a stone pickaxe and axe, snatching up his crafting table afterwards. The boy turned in all directions, trying to notice something that’d alert him of an ocean.

“Northeast,” he heard Punz say quietly. Sapnap wasted no time, hurrying off into the direction his blond brother whispered to him. It wasn’t long before near-black colored eyes were staring at the never-ending bluish green of a sparkling ocean, the sun making the water lapping at the shore shine beautifully. He had seen oceans before, of course he had, but there was something special about this one. Something different. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but decided he didn’t need to as a hand on his arm tugged him from his reverie.

“What are you looking for?” the disembodied voice of his brother asked.

He rolled his eyes, answering quickly. “A shipwreck.”

“Good. After that, you’re gonna look for an underwater ravine with magma at the bottom, got it?”

“Got it.”

He forced the boat to materialize in the water, quickly climbing aboard, gripping the sides as the boat rocked. He never liked the way he felt in boats. He tended to get seasick really easily, especially when Dream was around. That bastard would spin them around  _ on purpose!  _ Asshole. Sapnap shivered as he gripped the paddles. He pushed off.

His gaze was locked onto the ocean beneath him, searching for old, broken ships. Time dragged on, the only noise to fill the air being the push and pull of Sapnap’s rowing. He sighed, for nobody had told him how lonely this was gonna be. Well, he wasn’t technically alone, not really. His brother was here, albeit quiet. The dark haired boy could feel his watchful gaze though, piercing through him.

“Punz?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Can you hum again? It’s quiet.”

Punz didn’t respond, but a low humming filled the air, and a smile broke out on the younger’s face. Punz didn’t like to admit it, but he cared for his baby brother. He’d fight the world for him. He’d protect him from everything and everyone. He’d be there, every time. For every scraped knee, every scratched cheek, every cut finger, he’d be there. 

A yelp tore Punz from his thoughts, and he grinned when he noticed what caused the small scream. “Nicely done. That’s the underwater ravine you need. Remember the general direction of it, ‘cause you still need to find a shipwreck. You’re at 12 minutes,” he reminded his brother. 

**_12:24:03._ **

Sapnap nodded, pushing his wild hair out of his face. Punz’s blue eyes watched his brother as he tucked his hair behind his ears, readying himself to row again. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation as Punz pulled up his holographic screen, forcing himself into creative mode. Reaching deep into the archives of the creative inventory, he pulled out stark white wool and taut string. He reached into the code, forcing the pieces together, creating some sort of tie. 

“Sapnap,” he called out from his place behind his brother. The aforementioned whipped around, careful not to tilt his boat over. Punz maneuvered himself closer, sitting in front of the dark haired kid. Sapnap stared at him with wide dark eyes, glancing down at his arm. The timer was paused. 

**_13:37:56._ **

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, not wanting to disappoint Punz. Punz let out a short laugh, shaking his head.

“No, Pandas, you’re doing great. I just made you something, that’s all. Here.” Punz held out the white strip of cloth, offering it up. “It’s for your hair, so you can pull it back.”

Sapnap’s eyes lit up as he excitedly took the cloth. He pulled it up to rest just on his hairline, the hair that was previously in his line of sight now resting over the cloth, just shy of his eyebrows. He tied it behind his head the best he could, going as far as to double-knot it. “Thank you,” he said, smiling.

Punz waved him off, pulling up his screen again. He re-entered spectator mode, letting his little brother know the timer was started again. The kid wasted no time, rowing with more effort than before. His eyes scanned the ocean blue, mind mentally marking where the ravine was. Minutes passed, and suddenly he gasped, pointing excitedly into the water.

“Don’t just point at it, idiot! Go get what’s in the chests. Please, for the love of Ender, don’t drown. If you need to breathe, use a door, got it?” Punz said, watching as Sapnap prepared himself.

The boy nodded before diving off the boat, swimming down. Punz followed him, unseen. Sapnap was quick to find the way in and sort through the chests, taking all the iron and the nuggets. He placed a door in the empty doorway to the chest room, taking a small breather. 

“Craft a bucket,” he heard Punz’s voice slice through the sounds of the moving water. The boy did so, filling it and placing it into his inventory. “Good job, now get out of the water. Don’t bother taking the door.”

Sapnap kicked rapidly once he left the ship, propelling himself upwards. He gasped when he broke the surface, a coughing fit racking his throat. Punz looked on with sympathy in his blue eyes. Taking from a shipwreck for the first time is never fun, but you get better at holding your breath as time goes on (he learned that the hard way).

Sapnap pulled himself onto his boat, pulling the iron out of his inventory to show his brother, who hummed with pride. The soaking wet kid didn’t wait for further instructions, instead choosing to turn his boat around and row back towards the ravine. He caught his breath as he did so, getting used to properly filtering air into his lungs again. Punz watched as he hovered above the ravine, boat just shy of being rocked by the hot bubbles the magma sent up.

“Ready? You’re gonna have to use the doors. I’ll tell you what to do once you’re down there,” Punz said, laughing at Sapnap’s annoyed expression.

“Just tell me right now. You don’t have to wait until I drown,” he huffed, crossing his arms. 

The blond rolled his eyes, crossing his own arms as well. “You’re gonna forget in panic if I tell you now. Just dive down, place the doors and open them. Don’t ask me how it works, I don’t know. You’re at 20 minutes.”

**_20:14:23._ **

“Blah blah blah,” Sapnap mocked, getting ready to dive again. He felt a harsh slap of wind hit the back of his head. “Did you just hit me?!” he asked, voice full of annoyance. Punz didn’t answer, only letting out a light chuckle. “Whatever,” the dark eyed boy grumbled. He hesitated for only a second before jumping into the water, letting the magma bubbles pull him down until he nearly touched them. He pushed himself into the dark water, eyes stinging as the salt from the ocean attacked him.

“Find two magma blocks next to each other,” he heard Punz instruct. “Place a door.” He followed the commands, rubbing his eyes once he was in the door’s protective space. “Mine the magma blocks. Have you ever seen Dream make a portal?” the blond asked, only continuing once the ravenette nodded. “You’re gonna do something like that. You’ll have to be quick to grab the lava.”

Sapnap bit his lip in concentration as Punz’s voice instructed him. He followed the orders closely, the creation of the Nether portal going much faster than he thought it would. Soon enough, he was staring at an empty portal frame.

“Good. Did you get a flint from the shipwreck?” Sapnap flashed the flint in his hand before returning it to his inventory. “Nice. Make a flint and steel and enter the portal. You’re gonna wanna go northwest from there.” Sapnap did so, lighting up the portal. The purple swirls were reflected in his dark eyes, and he was almost mesmerized. He set a foot on the frame.

And then he paused.

“You’re still gonna be with me, right? You’re entering the Nether with me?” he asked, voice small and worried. He hadn’t been to the Nether much, only a few times with Sam by his side. Sam hadn’t been home in a few months though. He missed him.

Sapnap felt the ghost of a hand ruffling his hair as Punz spoke. “Of course I’m gonna be with you. I’m here to teach you, dumbass. I’m not gonna leave you, especially in the Nether. Let’s go, we don’t have time to waste. It’s a speedrun, not a speedwalk.” Sapnap giggled, his brother’s reassurance lifting his mood. He closed his eyes and entered the swirling purple in front of him.

He was unceremoniously dumped onto the other side, gagging as he fell to his knees, arms wrapped around his stomach. Punz grimaced, knowing how it feels to go through the Nether portal your first couple of times. It’s not a pretty thing, most throwing up any food they ate beforehand. 

“C’mon, kid. 27 minutes in. You got this,” Punz encouraged. “You’re gonna spend most of your time in here, so get used to the heat.” Sapnap groaned, sitting up. He nodded, forcing himself to his feet as his body adjusted to the high temperatures of the Nether.

**_27:56:19._ **

_ Which way?  _ he thought to himself, looking around at the vast netherrack surrounding him.  _ Right, northwest. That’s what Punz said, anyway. _ The boys jogged (floated, in Punz’s case) towards the northwest, comfortable silence falling between them. “Punz?” Sapnap suddenly prompted, breaking the silence.

“What’s up?”

“Do you know how Sam is? I miss him,” the headband-donning boy asked. Punz materialized next to him, taking his hand and letting Sapnap swing their arms. “I wish he was here, too. Maybe we can get Dream to locate him when we get back.” There was a twinge of pain in Sapnap’s voice, making Punz’s heart clench.

“Sam’s alright, buddy. He’s off making his awesome base. You wanna know what? He said that after he’s done, he’s gonna invite you to stay with him,” Punz smiled down at his brother, committing the way his entire face lit up to memory.

“Really?! That’s gonna be so cool, dude. I’m gonna convince him to let me come back to your place as much as I want. He’s coming too, he doesn’t have a choice,” Sapnap huffed, forcing down his overjoyed smile. “He’s gonna be so proud of me once I complete this.” Punz nodded in agreement, tightening his hold on his little brother’s hand.

_ Sam smiled and dropped to his knees as 7 year old Sapnap made his way to him, grinning happily. “Good job, bubba! You did so well. Thank you for helping me.” Sam hugged his baby brother tight, ruffling his hair just to annoy him. He laughed as Sapnap complained, pushing his hand away from the messy hair he now had. “I’m really proud of you, kid.” Sapnap giggled, throwing his arms around Sam’s midsection as the 14 year old stood up. _

_ “Come on, let’s go find Punz. Maybe we can scare the daylights out of him,” Sam whispered, looking around as if Punz was watching.  _

_ “Let’s go!” Sapnap exclaimed, his small hand taking Sam’s redstone-stained one as he pulled him along. _

The pair made small talk as they walked, Punz never letting go of Sapnap’s hand. His watchful eyes scanned for a fortress or a bastion, hoping for a bastion first. They stopped every once in a while to mine gold, reminding Sapnap of the boots that weren’t going to leave his feet until they broke.  _ Stupid Punz, making me wear these. They’re gold, not even useful,  _ he complained to himself.

_ “Just make the boots,” Punz groaned, dragging a hand down his face. Sapnap was indignant, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. He had more than enough gold to make the boots, but still refused. “And why not? It’ll keep you safe for when we come up on a bastion,” the older argued. _

_ “I’m not a baby! I don’t need some stupid boots to ‘keep me safe,’” the ravenette had exclaimed, throwing his hands out. He shouted in protest when Punz opened his creative inventory, searching for a pair of golden boots. “I just said I’m not a fucking baby!” Punz ignored him, pulling up his command bar. It would be scuffed, but it’d work. _

_ He enchanted the boots with Curse of Binding before handing them off to his brother, glaring at him. “Put. The. Fucking. Boots. On.” He had spat out each word, watching as Sapnap’s eyes widened. With a grumble of curses (“you motherfucker, I hate you, you bitch-ass idiot”), he pulled the boots on. Punz shot him a smile once he did so, resuming his walk through the Nether wastelands. _

It'd been a while since that happened, though. Abruptly, Punz paused. He pointed to a black structure several blocks away, directing Sapnap’s attention away from his memories. 

“That’s a bastion. It’s crawling with piglins. They can be vicious, so watch out. The boots will only protect you up until you start taking the gold. Once that happens, you immediately need to break it into ingots. Trade with them quickly, you’re looking for string and pearls, understand?” Punz spoke quickly, experience within his tone. Worry was in his blue eyes. This is where a lot of things could go wrong. “Do you understand?” he repeated.

“I understand. Get the blocks, break them into ingots, start trading,” Sapnap repeated back to him, fighting a smirk when Punz nodded in approval. He watched as Punz switched back to spectator mode.

“39 minutes in,” his brother reminded him. His eyes landed on the timer on his arm.

**_39:08:23._ **

He inhaled deeply, letting the air out slowly. He had this. He had this.  _ He had this. _

His ears tuned in to the way his boots thumped against the ground, to the way he could hear the piglins conversing as he approached. He listened to the way the lava popped in the background.

He entered the bastion.

His older brother was right. The place was crawling with piglins, some having more armor than others. A tremor ran through his body as he eyed them with distrust. Some turned to look at him but none attacked him after acknowledging the gold boots he donned. 

The boy held his breath when he saw what his brother had described as a “piglin brute” on their long journey here. If it saw him, it would attack without hesitation. He inched around the walls, letting out a heavy sigh when he was out of sight.

He made his way through the bastion until he was staring at a large pile of gold, the low glow of the messily hung lanterns glinting off the shiny metal. He edged his way towards the pile until he could comfortably slip behind it, letting himself breathe normally.

He slid his pickaxe into his hand and carefully started mining. Four blocks down, four blocks to go.

And then a golden axe embedded itself right next to his head, along with the heavy breathing of a piglin. He looked up slowly, right into the face of a brute. The ugly thing reached past him, grabbing its axe from the wall and aiming for his neck. It swung, and he shrieked. He jerked out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough, feeling the blade cut into his arm.

“Punz!” he screamed out, adrenaline helping him ignore the dark crimson liquid gushing from his right arm. He raced through the bastion, screeching as the brute hunted him down. His cry for help only served as a way to grab more piglins attention, crossbows being loaded quickly. Badly aimed arrows whizzed past him, only serving as more reason to panic. Those with swords wasted no time running after him, rapidly advancing on him. “Punz!” he cried out again, tripping over a loose patch of blackstone. He fell to his knees, doing his best to quickly turn over and scrabble backwards. He felt small stones jab into his palms, but he couldn’t focus on that, not right now.

“Sapnap!” he heard his brother scream back. He heard an arrow fly. He was suddenly aware of a violent pain in his stomach, a stinging cut on his shoulder, and a blade swinging at him.

“Punz,” he whimpered, eyes tearing up and vision becoming blurry. “Punz, I’m scared. I’m scared!” Searing hot tears fell down his cheeks as the pain set in. “Punz!” he screamed out again, feeling his voice crack. “Punz, please, save me,” he whispered. 

A low whine filled his ears. His vision went black.

**_48:18:15._ **

**Author's Note:**

> Should I make a sequel? This was capped off at 4k works, but was going to go for much longer until my beta (@/sapnaphangout on Twitter, check her out I love her so much) agreed that I should leave it up to you guys to decide whether it should be continued.
> 
> Child Dream still in the works, but closer to being finished! Love you guys <3
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed! It really helps break through my writers block when I can go back and look at how much people want a part 2 and stuff like that :)


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